When Egyptian President Anwar Sadat cracked down two weeks ago on
religious militants who oppose his regime, one of his targets was the
Coptic Orthodox Church, the ancient Christian community that has
survived in Egypt since its establishment by the Apostle Mark in the
1st century A.D. Sadat abruptly stripped the Coptic Pope, Shenouda III,
of his authority, banished him to a desert monastery, and ordered the
arrest of some 125 Coptic clergy and lay activists. The world was
shocked, but many members of the...